Just like the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres were sold to a new ownership group last year. The Padres' new owners even have old Dodger ties. The group includes sons and nephews of Peter O'Malley.

That's where the similarities end.

While the new owners in Los Angeles startled the baseball world with lavish cash outlays, the new owners in San Diego have taken the same approach as the old owners — careful in their spending, looking for their diamonds-in-the-rough.

"The best thing we can be as an organization is aware of who we are and feel good about it," general manager Josh Byrnes says. "This is competition. We are out here to win games and, most important, we want to win championships. But we have to understand how we are going to do it."

It's about building and long-term commitment in San Diego.

The Dodgers' new owners also say they believe in building from within and long-term commitment. But the Dodgers have deep enough pockets to buy immediate hope on the baseball open market while waiting to harvest crops from the farm system. The Padres? They will wait.

While the Dodgers reworked their roster in the final three months of 2012 and then signed free agent Zack Greinke during the offseason, the Padres re-signed journeyman pitcher Jason Marquis, struck a deal with veteran righthander Freddy Garcia and shortened the outfield dimensions in the power alleys at Petco Park, where pitchers have flourished and hitters have faded into oblivion.

In stark contrast to recent history, the Padres' primary concern is their rotation. The franchise entered the offseason with lefthander Clayton Richard and righthanders Edinson Volquez and Andrew Cashner penciled into the starting five.

Cashner, who has a triple-digit fastball, was added to the list of question marks in December when he cut a tendon in his right thumb while dressing out a deer on a hunting trip. The injury isn't major but should keep him from being ready on opening day.

If the Cashner setback wasn't enough, the Padres also suffered an offseason slap when catcher Yasmani Grandal, who hit cleanup at times in the second half of last season, was handed a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug agreement. Shortstop Everth Cabrera, who led the NL with 44 stolen bases in 2012, also recently was linked to PEDs.

The Padres do have reason for some hope with the offense, which was a key part of why they were nine games over .500 after the All-Star break. That second-half performance was undoubtedly a factor in manager Bud Black having the options in his contract for 2014 and 2015 guaranteed.

"Now we have to take it a little farther and be the team we want to be," Black says. "We're getting to a point where we feel good about our talent every night."

However, there will be a void without Grandal, who hit .297 with eight homers and 26 RBIs in 192 at-bats as a rookie in 2012. The Padres are confident in Nick Hundley, the incumbent Grandal unseated. He was, after all, signed to a three-year contract last spring.

3 REASONS TO BELIEVE

Mr. Dependable: Chase Headley. He is coming off a monster season, the kind that might have won him an MVP award if the Padres were a playoff contender. Now he must prove his 31 homers, 115 RBI and .875 OPS weren’t flukes, because they were by far his best overall numbers in his four full major league seasons. If Headley can’t duplicate his 2012 stats, San Diego’s lineup will struggle to produce runs.

X-factor: Carlos Quentin. The left fielder didn’t debut until late May last season, but when he returned from his knee injury he was one of the best hitters in the division and earned a contract extension. He posted a 145 OPS-plus and hit 16 homers in 340 plate appearances. If Quentin can stay healthy and produce at a high clip again, the Padres will be much better than the casual fan might expect.

On deck: Yonder Alonso. At 25, he finally had a productive major league season, but 2013 might be his breakout year. In the second half last season, he hit .285/.352/.430. If that line can stand for an entire season, Alonso might be on his way to a long and productive career.—Anthony Witrado

TEAM SNAPSHOT

OFFENSE: Headley provides a nice bat to build around, and Maybin and Alonso are young players with high upsides. For a team in a big park, the Padres could use more overall team speed.

DEFENSE: It never is a good sign when a team enters spring training without its middle infield set, and that’s what the Padres face. Headley did win a Gold Glove at third base last season, and the outfielders are relatively consistent covering Petco’s vast expanse of space.

ROTATION: If Cashner misses only a couple of weeks, and Eric Stults shows his 8-3 record in a part-time role as a starter last season can be expanded, San Diego will have hope. It’s a lot to hope for, though.

BULLPEN: Huston Street is the perfect closer for Petco: He pitches to contact and the fly balls fade into outs. There are strong righthanded complements to him in the bullpen, but that go-to lefty so necessary in the NL West is missing.

BENCH: When a team has a limited payroll, it rarely has the flexibility to invest in part-time players. The Padres do, however, get a lift off the bench from the Mark Kotsay/Jesus Guzman combo, which combined for 21 of the team’s 38 pinch-hit RBIs.

SCOUT’S VIEW

A major league scout analyzes 3B Chase Headley:

“Chase Headley had a breakthrough 2012 season. He was an All-Star, won a Gold Glove and received MVP consideration for a team with a losing record. All of it was justified. He showed the potential to make last year’s effort a regular occurrence. Offensively, he was more aggressive on pitchers’ mistakes than he had been in the past, when he may have let a hanging pitch go for a ball. It was a controlled aggression, though, as Headley did not chase breaking balls down and out of the zone. His confidence at the plate carried over to the field, where he showed better range and a strong, accurate arm.”

KEY STAT

The adjustments to Petco Park’s dimensions can’t hurt. The Padres have hit .236 at home compared with .256 on the road since Petco opened. They also have averaged 60 homers per season at home compared with 78 on the road.

2013 OUTLOOK

What could go right: If Cashner returns early in the season and if Marquis provides a boost, the Padres will have a formidable trio at the top of the rotation to enjoy what still should be a pitcher-friendly environment at Petco.

What could go wrong: The team is hoping Headley’s second-half surge in 2012 wasn’t a once-in-a-career experience. Without the threat of his experienced bat in the middle of the lineup, San Diego doesn’t have much of a fear factor.

Bottom line: The Padres have too many things that must fall into place for them be competitive, much less a contender. It’s disheartening for a team in a park built for pitching to be concerned about its pitching staff.